Animal tests rise in Britain despite government pledge

The facts and figures are in. The number of tests on animals in Britain increased slightly last year, in spite of plans by the government to reduce such experimentation.

The official annual report released today says that 4.12 million procedures were begun in England, Wales and Scotland in 2013, up 0.3 per cent from 2012. Of these, 2.1 million involved the breeding of genetically modified animals, a rise of 6 per cent from 2012.

The overwhelming majority (93 per cent) of the work was done on mice, rats and fish. Use of species such as dogs, primates, cats and horses, which have stricter rules on when they can be experimented on, accounted for 16,800 procedures, only 0.4 per cent of all animal research, down 5000 from 1995.

Animal welfare groups have condemned the latest figures, citing the UK government’s pledge in February to seek alternatives to animal testing whenever possible. “These shameful statistics just released by the Home Office fly in the face of the government’s commitment to reducing the number of animals used in scientific research,” animal-rights group PETA said.